My College Essay – Prompt: Caring for a Pet
I was abruptly woken up by nudges at the foot of my bed from beneath my covers. I opened my tired eyes to see the slit-like green eyes of my seven year old best friend, Luna, my loving cat. As I stepped out of my bed and headed downstairs, followed by my feline friend, I was greeted again by another one of my furry companions. This time it was my four year old short-legged corgi, Sunny. Luna hid behind me even though I was petting her and letting her know that everything was okay. She slowly crept out from behind me and met eyes with Sunny. Their breathing both slowed, and what could’ve been their most peaceful meeting ended abruptly as Sunny let out an ear-piercing bark, causing Luna to take off running back into my room. Although this greeting was unsuccessful, this was definitely a sign of improvement and a step in the right direction.
Back when I first adopted Luna, all the free time I had went into spending hours with her. Therefore, when I adopted Sunny as a puppy, Luna’s world was ruptured. This world that she had known her entire life was flipped upside down by adding another animal in the mix. I was at fault. I was guilty. I was the one who decided to adopt a new pet, even though I knew Luna’s personality and her shyness around other animals. I knew that adopting a puppy would be time consuming. Which would leave no room in my day to spend time with Luna. I left her all alone and shattered the only world she ever knew. While attempting to save another animal, I hurt the only one that trusted me.
Through the years that followed, I was able to progressively gain Luna’s trust again by giving her and Sunny their own space. They have, over time, grown closer together and know that they are both here to stay. Since then, I have learned how to balance my time with both of my furry friends by playing with Sunny in the mornings and late evenings, and spending time with Luna during the day. I hope this trait of well balanced time management follows me through the rest of my life!
Caring for Luna and Sunny has been a journey of growth, one that extends beyond a simple pet, cat or dog. It has taught me about commitment, patience, and the importance of making small everyday moments to remember. I have learned the value of responsibility through a daily routine. I have been able to experience the profound joy and excitement that can be found in even the smallest of interactions with a furry friend. I will always be grateful to them for the loving and caring person they have turned me into. Luna and Sunny are not just pets. They are a testament to the everyday life lessons that have shaped me into the person I am today.
Author’s Reflection
Are you nervous to apply to college? Well, I was nervous too before taking Mr. Denvir’s Dual Enrollment class. Before taking this class, I had absolutely no idea how I was going to write my college essay. But thankfully Mr. Denvir shared some good strategies for us to use. That’s why I’m writing this handy-dandy guide for writing your college application essay, so you can get into the college of your dreams!
Writing a good college essay may seem like a daunting task. Many seniors and rising seniors assume that if they simply trauma dump and yap onto their keyboards and turn that into colleges, they’ll be accepted. But the truth is that the college admission committees read hundreds of college application essays everyday from students just like you. Sharing a traumatizing moment from your life is just not enough to stand out from the crowd of rising college students. But if those of you writing college essays had strategies openly available to you, then maybe this necessary step of applying to colleges wouldn’t seem so intimidating.
The most important characteristic that I made sure to include in the essay you see above is making sure my writing fully responds to the prompt given. I wrote my essay based on the prompt “Caring for a Pet.” With such a personal topic, it was very easy for me to make my essay reach the required word count. Since this prompt was about my individual growth through caring for a pet, I was able to make my essay poignant as well. Which is another key factor that college admission readers favor. They like to see essays that highlight important, defining moments from your life that you have learned from. They want to see you overcome your obstacles, instead of relishing in the good ol’ days before college.
For example, I wrote about how owning two pets helped me learn how to balance my time management better. But I wasn’t able to achieve this without struggling first. In my essay, I go into detail about me trying to juggle my responsibilities between two pets. I opened up to my audience about my situation and got very intimate with my emotions. I showed vulnerability, and I shared how I was feeling in the moment with my readers. They were able to see things from my perspective, which helped enhance my essay.
Ensuring your essay is well written will put you a cut above the rest. While I was going through and polishing my essay, I made sure to include plenty of details describing my surroundings to bring the readers into the story as if they were experiencing it themselves. Showing self awareness and exhibiting your core values is something else you could add. For example, I shared my priorities with my audience, and all in all I finished my essay within three days. It wasn’t exactly stress-free per se, but yours could be!
